You don’t have to be psychic to know why you are in our office. Most people are not “deadbeats” or “people who just spend too much” they aren’t “immature and irresponsible”. Bad stuff happens to good people. Plain and simple. There are 3 main reasons people need to file bankruptcy:

1.Job Loss or Loss of Income

2.Divorce/Separation

3.Medical Issue

Job Loss or Loss of Income:

Job Loss is a catastrophic event for anyone involved. Suddenly your security is ripped away and you feel terrified, alone and, sometimes, sadly, worthless. There is no crime in losing your job and no reason to feel like less of a person. You are amazing, your industry has lost out when they lost you. Now is time to use bankruptcy to help you eliminate those bills hanging over your head leaving you free to reevaluate what you want to do with your life and get on with it!

Loss of Income can be as devastating since you still have income just nowhere near enough. Now you start robbing Peter to pay Paul. You start juggling bills and losing sleep trying to figure out who to pay this month and who can wait a month. Unfortunately, we have learned that eventually Peter peters out and that snowball becomes an avalanche.

Research tells us that most people wait 2 years after job/business loss, loss of income to actually come into our office to get help. Unemployment has run out, they have tapped all their relatives and they are at the end of their rope. We only wish they would have come in sooner. Why go through all this unnecessary suffering when a solution is a phone call away?

Divorce/Separation:

Divorce is hard enough without the added stress of bills that need to be paid. Both parties are trying to heal and move on with their lives and this process is complicated by all these debts that have to be paid – but how? One household is now two – two times the expenses PLUS all the bills from pre-divorce. Add in the divorce attorneys bills, child support and alimony. No one escapes divorce unscathed.

Medical Issue:

Medical Issues now account for a large percentage of the bankruptcies filed in the U.S every year. Elizabeth Warren, a professor at Harvard, conducted a research study in 2007 which concluded that bankruptcies had increased by nearly 50 percent in the six-year period, from 46 percent in 2001 to 62 percent in 2007. She found that most of those who filed for bankruptcy were middle-class, well-educated homeowners.

“They concluded that 62.1 percent of the bankruptcies were medically related because the individuals either had more than $5,000 (or 10 percent of their pretax income) in medical bills, mortgaged their home to pay for medical bills, or lost significant income due to an illness. On average, medically bankrupt families had $17,943 in out-of-pocket expenses, including $26,971 for those who lacked insurance and $17,749 who had insurance at some point.” Medical bills prompt more than 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies June 05, 2009 |By Theresa Tamkins

Even given the huge increase in filings in 2005 due to the panic over the “new law” bankruptcy changes, it is clear that medical bills/issues account in one way or another, for a large percentage of the bankruptcies filed in the U.S.

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We know that no one wants to file bankruptcy. It’s not a life goal for most people, but it can be a necessity for survival. Life happens and we do what we have too to survive. The bankruptcy laws are there to give you the opportunity to clean your slate and get a fresh start. Come in and let us discuss your options and what the best course of action is for you. We are here to help!